


Night of a Thousand Fires

by Maggie_GoldenStar1530



Series: Dar'Manda One Shots [5]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Pre-Canon, basically genocide, the great purge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24305650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maggie_GoldenStar1530/pseuds/Maggie_GoldenStar1530
Summary: There had been rumors of an Imperial attack circulating for months, and everyone had been in a ready position for so long it was hard to think anything serious was going to happen.The Great Purge as seen through the eyes of Din and his Foundling sister (my OC).
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV) & Original Character(s)
Series: Dar'Manda One Shots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753318
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Night of a Thousand Fires

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly the Dar'manda One-Shots don't require a knowledge of the series as a whole, but it helps for a few things for this.

It started with an explosion. 

Everyone had gone to their quarters to eat- there had been rumors of an Imperial attack circulating for months, and everyone had been in a ready position for so long it was hard to think anything serious was going to happen.

Teryn had just taken off her helmet to eat- there was a forkful of food in her hand and it was the first thing she had a chance to eat all day. The tension had gotten so high that people were starting to pick fights and blow up at the most inconsequential things. Paz had beaten the shit out of a kid who had just taken the Creed for… she didn’t even know what for, but she’d had to put him back together. 

She hadn’t seen Jha or Din in days- she and Din lived in the barracks, and Jha had come after the base she’d been stationed on was consolidated with theirs. Jha had quietly admitted to her two Foundlings that she’d been relieved to see them- the Empire was going more and more aggressive by the day, and she felt it was only a matter of time. 

“They’ll probably go for Mandalore first, and we’ll be able to flank them.” Jha said. “They don’t realize how many of us there are, and we’ll crush them between our hammer and Mandalore’s anvil.” 

Teryn and Din had agreed, but privately, they were dubious. Teryn knew which ship she’d been assigned to, should an evacuation order come. The initial plans for an attack had the wounded coming to their base, and Din would be with the defense infantry- he had only had the basic training in Rising Phoenix, and would be better used as a defense sniper. Jha, they both knew, would be commanding her platoon. 

But as the waiting dragged on, and on, and on, further plans were made, discarded, revived, modified, and reverted. No one was entirely sure what the plan was now. 

At least, Teryn thought, they’d already evacuated everyone who hadn’t yet sworn the Creed to safety. No matter what happened with their base on Concordia, the children were all safe. 

So when Teryn sat down to shovel some food into her face and then maybe get a bit of shut eye, and the first explosion rocked the base, she barely had her helmet on before running to the med bay. 

It was chaos. Communicators were screeching, people were running to and fro, and she could see lines of warriors going out to man the defenses. 

“Vod’ika!” Din ran up, and she let out a gasp of relief. 

“What happened?” 

“Imperial gunships. They’re bombing the training fields.” They both looked up as the evacuation klaxon began to blare, and then at each other. 

“I don’t even know which plan we’re on.” Teryn grumbled, “But my orders are the same.” She grabbed Din’s head and pressed the forehead of her helmet to his. “Re’turcye mhi, ori’vod.” 

“Re’turcye mhi. K’oyacyi.” Din hugged her tightly, just for a minute, and took off running. Whatever plan they were supposed to do, he was supposed to guard the defenses so they could evacuate. 

Jha could only trust that her Foundlings were where they were supposed to be. They were adults, and they were good soldiers, in their own ways, but it was hard to let your children go, sometimes. She ran to where the platoons commanders were to assemble for their orders. 

“Did they attack Mandalore, and we didn’t notice?” 

“No. They’re attacking us and the planet simultaneously.” Everyone stared in shock. The sheer size of an operation like that was enormous. It was unthinkable that they would have been able to stage it with no warning.

“At least the children are safe.” 

Everyone nodded and murmured, _The Foundlings are the future._ “We have no choice but to evacuate. They caught us by surprise. You three-” and the al’verde pointed to Jha, and two others. You need to cover our retreat. Your platoons are strongest in air support.” 

Jha nodded. She knew that the likelihood of any of them surviving was slim, and at this point, there was no time for goodbyes. She would have to wait for her children to join her in manda. 

The few people in the med bay who were unable to get up and go fight were sent to the first evac ships with medical support and supplies. There had been dithering- so much dithering- about should supplies already be loaded or not, what if we need them here when the attack comes, what if we have to bug out. In the end, there was a mess of supplies all over, and no ship was well stocked, and there weren't any accurate manifests of what was where. In the end, people took what they could and ran. 

As the first wave of evacuees hit the landing field, more Imperial gunships arrived and started blasting, destroying everything- and everyone. The explosions and screams could be heard in the med bay. 

“Shit shit shit.” Teryn chanted as she grabbed a med pack. The comms were useless at this point- everyone was yelling over each other, and only fragments were getting through. “-ships destro-” “Stormtroopers march over the training-” “...black armor-” 

“Baar'ur.” The al’baar’ur snapped at Teryn. “Go find a ship- any ship- and be ready.” Teryn nodded. The landing fields were already a total loss, from the sound of it, but there were other ships hidden away. Only fools would keep all their spacecraft in one place. She drew her blaster and took off at a run. 

“Went into medical so I wouldn’t have to run.” She grumbled as she ran down a corridor. Walking wounded from the landing fields, but as much as it killed her, she ran past them. Even as they called for help, even as they cursed her for leaving them behind. _Others are still in the med bay. They can help,_ she thought.

There were five ships in the back hanger. From above, it didn’t look like anything, so maybe, maybe they wouldn’t see them until they were away. Maybe some of them could get out of this. 

Maybe. Paz was there, directing people on to the ships, and gestured for her to get on one. “There’s a few wounded on board already. Do your job.” Teryn nodded. 

They hadn’t supplied this ship very well. A few crates, without much in them. Some pain meds, some stims, and not much else. She found the first wounded vod and got to work. 

Din frowned at the lines of troopers coming across the training field. Sure, the amban rifle could take out as many as he had slugs for, but that wouldn’t even make a scratch, much less make a difference. At least he could take out some of the commanders. He took aim, and fired, and fired, and fired again. He could see Rising Phoenix formations doing their best, and doing a good job- stormtrooper could barely aim in two dimensions, much less three- but there were just too many. 

There was a point where even the best trained warriors can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and the Empire had no problem throwing more and more troopers into the meat grinder.

He swallowed hard as he recognized his Buir, his finder, his teacher, his _parent_ , swooping through the air. And he bit back a scream when a blast from a cannon took her down. 

“Retreat! Back hanger!” Din came back to himself and started running. If they’d called for a full retreat at this point, everything was lost. Concordia had just turned to face the planet, and he’d heard in the chaos of the chatter that Mandalore was under attack as well. 

_It’s funny,_ he thought. _You can’t tell from here. It’s just white._

He ran. 

Din was one of the last into the back hanger, and Paz gestured him towards a ship. As soon as Din sagged against the bulkhead, Paz shut the hatch, even though Din could see more people trying to make it.

Paz was not in the habit of explaining his command decisions, but as he looked around, he could see people questioning his judgement. “They’re coming. We have to go.” The ship powered up, and lifted off. 

Din glanced down at his leg. One of his cuisses was scorched and smoking. Paz nodded. “Baar’ur is back there.” 

Din limped back, and found Teryn, and they both stared at each other in relief. “Vor entye. _Vor entye_ ,” breathed Teryn. Din echoed it, and they touched the foreheads of their helmets together. 

“How bad is it?” She knelt down to take off his cuisse and look at his leg. 

“It’s a total loss. I don’t know how many could have survived.” He hissed as she prodded the scorched part of his pants. “I saw Buir.” She looked up, trying to keep the flare of hope from her shoulders, and he shook his head. “I saw her go down. She had… a warrior’s death.” 

Teryn bowed her head, but said nothing. There was nothing to say.

When she finished, she looked around. There had been fewer wounded than expected. No, she corrected herself. There were far fewer survivors. She went to the window to look out as they flew away from their base on Concordia. It was mostly fire and swarms of white armor, and black smoke billowing into the sky. 

Three of the five ships in the back hanger, only four made it out into the black, and one of those was unable to make the jump to hyperspace. No one was even sure where they were supposed to evacuate to, this ship with fifty survivors. Another doctor had made it on board, along with one of the Armorers, a woman not much older than Din. She had, by brute strength, managed to bring one of the beskar mythosaur skulls on board- wherever they ended up, they would be watched over. 

She looked around, and straightened her shoulders. If this is how it was to be, this is how it was to be. They’d find a place, they’d find other survivors, they would rebuild. 

And someday, their vengeance would burn brighter still. 

Eventually they had found a place where they could settle and make a more concrete plan. The tunnels and sewers of Navarro weren’t ideal, but they would do. 

Most of the pre-arranged emergency channels were silent. Even the ones from the few contacts they maintained on Mandalore were silent. The Armorer sent recon missions out to learn more of what happened, and how many other survivors there were.

The reports back were devastating. The majority of the population of Mandalore and Concordia had been killed. Artifacts looted. Beskar stolen. A few groups had been found, but no one was sure how many Mando’ade still existed. Every once in a while, a lone survivor would be found. 

The children from Concordia were missing- their sanctuary had been attacked, no survivors had been found, and no one knew anything.

As they got settled, the Armorer called for Teryn, Rokr, and Therr. “I have heard rumors of captives near Rindell. Go ascertain the truth to these rumors. Baar’ur, I am sending you in case there are injured.” The Armorer nodded at all three of them. “Re’turcye mhi. Good luck.”

Teryn went to find Din, who was in the process of finding a ship of his own. Bounty hunting is a lucrative profession, if you have the transport. “Alor is sending us off world for a couple of days. Rumor chasing mostly, but,” she shrugged. “Maybe something will come of it. Don’t get into trouble before I get back.” 

He absently tapped her on the helmet, his mind occupied with other things. 

**Author's Note:**

> If this is your first time in this series, this leads into Three years, Four months, and Seventeen Days. 
> 
> Mando'a translations: 
> 
> Vod’ika: Little sister  
> Re’turcye mhi: Good-bye (Lit: Maybe we'll meet again.)  
> K’oyacyi: 1. *Cheers!* 2. Can also mean: *Hang in there* or 3. *Come back safely.* Literally, a command; *Stay alive!*  
> al’verde: Commander  
> Manda: the collective soul or heaven - the state of being Mandalorian in mind, body and spirit - also supreme, overarching, guardian-like  
> al’baar’ur: Doctor, head medic  
> baar'ur: Medic  
> Vor entye: Thank you (lit. *I accept a debt*)


End file.
